Twitter down to a 'tea'

This month I feel as though I’ve spent most of it on social media of some sort. From manning Sage Pay's Twitter account along with my dedicated social media team, to spending my free time uploading pictures of the last night out with friends on Facebook and keeping up with the gossip. It’s gotten to the point where I know pretty much everything that’s been going on without actually being told by anyone.

The transition of these types of media from a social ‘fad’ to a strategic business channel has gone from strength to strength. Research by New Media Age has recently shown that 87 of the top 100 brands in the Superbrands list have a Facebook page. 72 of the brands have a Twitter page and 68 have a YouTube account.

We are just about to release our E-Business Benchmark Report, a survey completed by 2000 online businesses. An interesting point that came up was that the perceived influence of social media amongst respondents was really low-less than 5%-however when you look at the impact on actual sales, the jump is a whopping 71%. So although social media did not prove to be an effective way to draw shoppers to your website, it was a successful way of boosting conversion rates and improving customer loyalty, encouraging shoppers to return to your site. Social media is giving brands a chance to interact with their customers, get their feedback on future products, enhance their reputation and upsell their products.

Since launching our own Twitter account and following many of our own customers, we’ve noticed a few that stand out in terms of their social media strategy.

Our customer teapigs use their Twitter account not only for customer service, but to advertise offers and promotions. What sets them apart is that unlike many other businesses I have come across, they don’t strip away their personalities. They use them as a way to connect with and relate to their customers and build rapport. Working on customer loyalty means that these same customers are coming back again and again and conversion rates are high. So team the friendly customer service with the gorgeous range of teas from Chocolate Flake tea to Liquorice and Mint and you have a winning combination.

As the official tweeter for teapigs, Hannah told us "Social media is very important to teapigs and helps us reach our fans and customers worldwide. We use it to keep everyone up to date with news from within the company, events we're going to be at, competitions, promotions and also general chit-chat. The communication network of Twitter, Facebook and the teapigs blog has allowed us to spread the word and share the passion for what we do, all from the comfort of our little office in Brentford!"

To celebrate and to help you enjoy some real tea in the office, teapigs are offering a 15% discount off all teas (excluding cheeky deals) when you enter the promotional code 'office' when buying online! Just click here to see their extensive range of teas.

I've just started a new food blog and I'm running a competition to try and promote my blog. I'm giving away 3 prizes - each of the three winners will receive a box of teapigs Peppermint Leaves 15 Tea Temples.